Owen on the road to recovery

Owen sustained the injury against Bradford at the start of November and was forced to miss the next two matches before making his comeback with the aid of a face mask to protect the area. The measure proved its worth as he came through okay against Barnet but, having felt discomfort in the 2-2 draw at home to Torquay towards the end of last month, it was decided a minor operation would be needed to stabilise the bones around his cheek. The 27-year-old may be in contention for a starting place this weekend as Vale travel to Northampton looking to get back to winning ways.